Blue Flower
by LunarDances
Summary: [Rozen Maiden 0 fic] A stressful day for Hana leads to understanding between her and Souseiseki. lowkey Hana/Souseiseki


**AN: This follows the canon established in the Rozen Maiden 0 manga. Granted, this is mostly just shippy character interaction, but I still would not recommend reading this without having read that. **

This was originally on a certain other site and is several years old, but I am presenting it as is. There's 2 and a half chapters more of content but I will post those only if I ever finish the 4th chapter. To be honest, I kind of like cutting it off here more than the strange turn of events I ended up writing later on.

* * *

Nothing but the busy noises of the streets could make it past the filter of the walls as the doll waited in still silence. The room had been freshly cleaned and for the doll, this meant nothing else to do until her master came home. By this time in her company of her current master she has memorized the approximate time for when the master returns. Despite there being no clocks within the room, her abilities as a Rozen Maiden mean she can still mentally keep track of the time. Despite the lack of anything to do, the doll was not bored. Rather, she was quite content with this predicament. A lack of duties to perform meant she has fulfilled her purpose for a time and she is, therefore, deeply satisfied.

There came a commotion at the door all of a sudden and the doll instantly came to her feet. The weary figure of her master, Hana, emerged sluggishly into the room. A drawn out sigh escaped from the human as she removed her hat. "How was work today, master?", the doll asked.

Hana was momentarily out of it and did not respond until the inquiry slowly worked its way into her conscious. She suddenly turned her view towards the small doll who had asked, "Oh! Souseiseki! I- It was dreadful today!".

"How so, master?".

Hana gave another loud sigh, "This rich and famous foreign man is visiting the city and he was in the 12 Floors today". She grabbed a small cup and filled it with water to wet her mouth, "People have been wanting to see him so work was packed with people looking every floor for him! It made the elevator so packed!", she finished up as she downed the cup with great enthusiasm.

Souseiseki's expression softened, "I'm sorry for you, master".

Hana tensed, "Oh, don't you __'I'm sorry' __me when you're practically a freeloader here!", she exclaimed as she flopped to her sheets and closed her eyes. The offending doll remained quiet. Indeed, a silence remained between them as Hana momentarily rested.

Some moments later Hana was aware Souseiseki had come over beside her. She grimaced, eyes still closed, "You're a rotten prince you know!".

"Master, look", Souseiseki merely asked and indeed Hana looked.

It was a bowl of plain rice. "I found a book on how to prepare it", Souseiseki explained.

At that point Hana realized her hunger and she took the bowl from the doll's hands. Now not paying any mind to the doll, she greedily began to consume the rice. Souseiseki took a seat beside her.

When she was finished with the bowl she set it aside and with renewed energy she inspected her room. Her eyes widened, "Oh, you swept the floor… and the dishes are washed…".

Souseiseki gave a small "Uh huh" in acknowledgment.

"-and my clothes are- are all put away!", she stammered as she tried to hide the blush of embarrassment creeping onto her face.

Souseiseki gave another sound in acknowledgment. Silence enveloped them again.

"Master?". Hana did not respond.

Souseiseki took it upon herself to investigate her master's silence. She got to her feet again and stood in front of her master. Hana meekly raised her head and refused eye contact.

"Master?", inquired Souseiseki again. It was then she could see the dampness setting in on Hana's eyes, "Master, are you crying?". Hana continued to refuse Souseiseki of her eye contact.

"I- I might owe you an apology…", Hana forced out, blush intensifying. A moment passed as she collected herself. She swallowed down the pressure building, "I haven't… been treating you well". Souseiseki said nothing as Hana sniffled. "Maybe you're not quite the rotten prince I thought you were…".

The doll stood composed, "I am… at your service, master". Hana finally met her eyes with the mismatched pair of the doll as tears finally escaped her eyes.

"Oh…", the human groaned, "Just tell me what you __really __think of me, Souseiseki".

Souseiseki remained quiet.

Hana's features tensed, "All I do with you is tell you what to do. You must not think too well of me...".

"Actually", began Souseiseki, "I do not mind it, master", her voice and expression oddly soft for the subject matter.

She groaned and hid her eyes again, "Oh, stop being so formal with me! You do nearly everything I say and refuse to call me by my real name! I only found you on the elevator, it's not like I saved your life to warrant __this __level of gratitude!".

Souseiseki was quiet once again, Hana's sudden outbursts briefly confusing her. "No, if anything it's exactly like you said", Souseiseki began, "When a Rozen Maiden is locked away in her case it's as though deeply dreaming. I could dream forever, and often do dream for ages until my master wakes me up. You are the latest of my masters to wake me up but you are by no means the worst master I have had".

A small smile crossed Hana's face, "-and was the worst master you've ever had one who told you to make your own decisions?", Hana mused.

Souseiseki's face narrowed in thought, "I… cannot remember who the worst was. Admittedly, my memory has been lacking since arriving here, but I can assure you that you are not the worst master I have had".

"So, am I second worst?".

The small doll reached for one of her hands and held it, "Not at all". Hana sniffled again and this time, gave a full smile. Souseiseki momentarily left Hana alone again to search for a rag. She arrived again with it in hand, "Could you lie down, master?", she instructed.

Hana gave a small laugh, "Is it new that you make decisions on your own? Considering that you cleaned and cooked earlier…".

Souseiseki gave a small bow, "I can think on my own. I thought you would enjoy your room cleaned and I spent all day cleaning. Your clothes and the rice was the hardest part due to my... lacking stature". At this, Hana chuckled.

"For a doll, you did good with the height you have", Hana said as she gently brushed her fingers against the hair framing Souseiseki's face, "With the resolve you must have had, I suppose you've re-earned the right for me to call you _'___prince' __again". At this, it was Souseiseki's turn to blush.

"Master... may I dry your eyes now?", Souseiseki nearly forced out while trying to hold back the immense feeling of gratitude from being complimented and the shame from blushing so easily at it.

Hana took notice of her dolls sudden change of emotion and chuckled again, "Oh, looks like I broke you! So, how easy is it __really __to mess you up like that? Should I say you've been a good doll again?".

"Master…", Souseiseki's expression narrowed in frustration.

Suddenly, Hana broke out into intense laughter, "I-Is it rude of me to- to tell you to just keep blushing? Ahaha!", she flopped back onto the sheets laughing and closed her eyes from the fresh tears developing in them.

Souseiseki's blush deepened, naturally and not because Hana had told her to, as she took this opportunity to do what she had intended to do for the last few minutes and dry Hana's eyes. However, Hana's shaking form was making this difficult. The doll leaned over onto the human's chest keeping an arm down as she tried with the other to get to Hana's face with the rag. Just as it seemed Souseiseki was finally going to do it, her balance fell and she met contact with Hana's chest. Hana immediately calmed down as she realized what had transpired inches above her. She looked down at the splayed doll across her torso as said doll picked herself up and with renewed purpose made another attempt at Hana's face. Hana immediately closed her eyes as Souseiseki drew near and finally the doll could dry her master's eyes.

"Well", began Hana, "I suppose I should thank you again". Souseiseki merely nodded in understanding as she drew back and laid herself beside Hana. The two laid side-by-side calming down, an easier task for the normally stoic doll. Finally, Hana gave a loud sigh, "Normally it's just so quiet here when I come home…". Souseiseki gave a small grunt in acknowledgment.

. . .

"Souseiseki?". The doll looked over. Hana rolled onto her side to face Souseiseki. Neither human or doll spoke anything as Hana draped an arm around the doll. Drained, the human felt herself slowly give in to the comfort for her bed sheets and the company of Souseiseki. Before long she was asleep. Once Souseiseki was sure Hana had fallen asleep she wiggled out from Hana's grasp to put away the bowl. Very quietly, she grabbed the object and put it up to be cleaned later.

Starting to feel drowsy much like her human companion, she crept back to Hana's sleeping company. Before she settled back in, she observed her human master's sleeping form as a small simile found its way onto her face. Hana's expression was not one of grace what with her mouth hanging slightly open and her brows slightly creased, likely from the stress of that day. The doll found no humor from the peculiar expression, rather, she enjoyed the honesty of her master's features. As she knew, her master always tried to keep a straight face outside and to see it be so expressive at home and in her sleep was a sincere side to her that few got to experience. It was at this point she vaguely remembered something her green-dressed twin had said about Souseiseki once, but the memory was too unclear for the contemplating and drowsy doll to recall in great detail. She gave another considerate look at the figure of her sleeping master and the bed sheets suddenly looked much more inviting as her drowsiness set in further.

Normally for a doll like her, she would sleep in her case. Tonight, however, she would try a night outside it. She laid back down next to Hana and wrapped her much smaller arms around one of the human's, resting her head next to Hana's hand. "Good night, master", she tenderly whispered to the sleeping human beside her as she slipped off into the Dreamworld.


End file.
